Canadian Bank Tests Smartphone Apps as ATM Cards

Imagine going to the ATM and using your phone instead of an ATM card to withdraw money or deposit checks. BMO Harris Bank is testing “cardless ATMs,” an app based way to interact with a banking machine.

The Chicago Tribune has the story:

The Canadian-owned bank, the second-biggest deposit gatherer in the Chicago area, said it’s “piloting a mobile app” with “a number” of workers “that would offer a more convenient alternative to withdrawing funds from an ATM,” spokesman Jim Kappel told the Tribune Wednesday. The app would help reduce the time that a customer spends at an ATM, he said.

Right now it is just in a testing phase, but if it works, the company said that it plans to roll the platform out across its network of ATMs. Would you trust an app to replace your ATM card?